Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for licensing all aquaculture facilities in British Columbia. The aquaculture licence and conditions of licence are designed to ensure the sustainable operation and development of the aquaculture industry. The following lists contain details related to...

Marine mammal predator control is governed by the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act. Records of marine mammal mortalities are maintained and results reported publicly. Additional licences can be obtained for control of other species. Fisheries and Oceans Canada works with industry...

Acoustic telemetry is a widely used method in assaying behavioural dynamics in fishes. Telemetry tags are often surgically implanted in the coelom of the animal and are assumed to have minimal rates of post-release mortality and tag shedding. However, fish are capable expelling tags and...

Estuaries are highly productive and diverse ecosystems that represent a geographic bottleneck between marine and freshwater systems. Estuaries have been identified as ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) in Canada’s Pacific Region because of their importance for the...

We have updated and reviewed toxicity data for Emamectin benzoate (EMB) and Ivermectin (IVER), two in-feed drugs used to treat sea lice in farmed Atlantic salmon, and inferred new Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) using a deterministic approach or Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs)...

The 2019 amended Fisheries Act (FA) contains a provision that will require DFO to have a public facing Registry to provide public access to records relating to fish and fish habitat protection and pollution prevention, including: • Ministerial agreements • Standards and Codes of practice •...

Mortality at salmon aquaculture facilities is closely monitored. If the amount of dead fish at a farm exceeds thresholds outlined in conditions of licence, a mortality event is said to have occurred and must be reported to DFO within 24 hours of discovery. Facility managers and veterinarian(s)...

This report provides a summary of fish health events reported by aquaculture companies to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). A fish health event is any suspected or active disease that occurs within an aquaculture facility that requires the involvement of a veterinarian and warrants mitigation...

Salmon escapement data constitute important corporate knowledge which must be adequately maintained and accessible. The Salmon Escapement Database (NuSEDS) is the DFO Pacific Region’s central database that stores individual spawner survey data records, spawner abundance estimates and the linkages...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) Conditions of Licence for finfish aquaculture include requirements to minimize harm to wild fish that swim into facilities. Facility operators must also maintain an incidental catch log, which is a record of wild fish caught at the facility during harvest...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) Pacific Aquaculture Regulations and Conditions of Licence for aquaculture in B.C. require licence holders to take various fish escape prevention measures, including maintaining infrastructure in a manner to prevent the escape of farmed fish into the...

Mortality at salmon aquaculture facilities is closely monitored. As in any population of wild or farmed animals, there are a number of causes leading to death. While in-depth diagnostic testing takes time, carcasses are routinely assigned to a number of defined categories which can help facility...

The endangered St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga population is in decline and has shown no signs of recovery despite multiple protection measures. Changes in prey availability and exposure to organohalogen contaminants have been proposed as potential factors limiting the its recovery. Studies on...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada requires operators of active marine finfish aquaculture sites in British Columbia to monitor for benthic (seabed) impacts. The benthic monitoring program is designed to limit the location, area and intensity of impact created by fish farms to the seabed and to support...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) conditions of licence for marine finfish aquaculture contain monitoring and intervention requirements to minimize the potential exposure of wild and farmed fish to sea lice. Licence holders must submit a Health Management Plan to DFO that includes sea lice...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada requires operators of active marine finfish aquaculture sites in British Columbia to monitor for benthic (seabed) impacts. The benthic monitoring program is designed to limit the location, area, and intensity of impact created by fish farms to the seabed and to support...

This report provides summary fish health data collected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) from randomly selected licensed marine facilities culturing salmon in British Columbia (BC). Results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening are provided, as well as a list of the bacterial pathogens...

This report provides a summary of sea lice mitigation events reported by marine finfish aquaculture companies in British Columbia to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). A sea lice mitigation event is any measure that is used to bring the sea lice abundance at a facility below the threshold of...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) conditions of licence for marine finfish aquaculture contain monitoring and intervention requirements to minimize the potential exposure of wild and farmed fish to sea lice. The Industry Sea Lice Abundance Counts report is updated monthly. It shows which...

Graphic illustrations of the major ecosystems in the Pacific region, including details on the main ecological components, key ecological interactions, environmental drivers, and relevant human activities. Ecosystems range from the intertidal to the deep sea and include: High and low energy rocky...